Automatic valve cut-off.



No. 629,794. Patented Aug. I1 |899.

R.A F. LINDSAY.

AUTMATIC VALVE CUT-DFF.

(Application led Aug. 8, 189B.) '.No Model.)

lll!!! v UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE,

ROBERT ERANKLING LINDSAY, OE GEEENvILLE, soUTII CAROLINA,

ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO CILY ,ih BROTHER, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC VALVE CUT-OFF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letterslatent 120,629,794, dated August 1, 1899.

Application filed August 8, 1898.

.To @ZZ whom, it may concern! Y Be it known that I, ROBERT FEANKLING LINDSAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greenville, in the county of Greenville and State of South Carolina, have invented a new and useful. Automatic Water Cut-Od, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a watercut-off constructed to be aected by heat, whereby when the temperature falls below a'certain point the parts of the device will be automatically operated to cut oft the supply of water and drain the service-pipes, as of abuilding..

rlhe object of my invention is to provide a simple and eflicientconstruction of the class above indicated whereby promptness and accuracy of operation are obtained.

Further objects and advantages of this inventionvwill appear in the following description, and the novel featuresv thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing the figure represents a central vertical section of a cut-oft constructed in accordance with my invention.

In the preferred vembodiment of my invention l designates a cylinder communicating with a supply-port 2 and having a cut-oii-1 valve seat 3, through which access lmay be had to the service-port 4, a cut-'OE valvebeing arranged to it said seat and having guidewings 6. In the lower side of thel casing in which the cylinder lis formedlprovidea 'drain-port 7, fitted with a drain-valve 8,which is carried by the stem 9 of the cut-od valve 5. The cut-oft and drain valves are oppositely opening, whereby as one is seatedA thel otherY is opened, and Ahence'wheu the cut-od valve is unseated to allow communication of liquid from the supply-port 2 to the service-port 4 (with which respectively communicate the supply-pipe l0 and the V.service-pipe lllth'e drain-valve is seated to prevent the escape of liquid, whereas when the cut-od valve isy seated to check the communication of liquid from thesupply-port to the service-port the drain-valve is unseated, and as the drain-port is in communication with the service-port, and hence with the service-pipes, it is obvious that when the apparatus is used inconnection serial No. 683,068'. (No model.)

out the building maybe drained out'to avoid the dangersof freezing and the bursting of pipes, &c. Any suitable construction of drainvalve may be empioyed;but that which I have illustrated and prefer in practice'embodies a packing-disk l2, held in place by a l with house-supply systems the water throughwasher 13, which in turn is secu red by a' Screw K 14, passing through said washer and packingring and threaded into the lower end of the stem 9. A

The upper end of the cylinder lis fitted with a removable cap l5, and mounted for reciprocatory movement in the cylinder isa piston or plunger 16, carried vby the abovedescribed valve-stem 9, to which are fixed the Oppositely-opening cut-ott and drain valves. In the construction illustrated the stem Slis provided 'with a fixed disk 17, upon which'is arranged a cup packing-ring 18, held in place by a washer 19, which in turn is secured by a nut 20, threaded upon the portion of the stem which projects above the plane of the disk 17.

Communicating with the cylinder l upon opposite sides ot' the plane of the piston 16 are yfeed-ports 2l and 22, which also communicate with a valve-casing 23, in which are arranged an inlet-valve seat 24 and an outlet or exhaust valve seat 25, the rst being formed in a partition 26, transversely spannilvigthe valve-casing 23 near the feed-port 22,' and the latter being disposed in communication with an exhaust-port 27 Mounted to cooperate with said valve-seats 24 and 25 are inlet and exhaust valves 28 and 29, which are also oppositely opening and are carried by a stem SO. p For instance, when the inlet-valve 28 is seated tocutoi communication between the feed-port 22 and the interior o I the valvecasing the exhaust-valve 29 is Vunseated to `allow the exhaust o f the contents of the cylinder above the piston through` the vfeed-port 2l and the exhaust-port 27. On the other hand, when the positions ot' the valves 2S and 29 are reversed, the latter lbeing closed,'com- Inunication is opened between the cylinder below the plane of the piston and the interior of the casing 2 3, and` hence with the portion of the cylinder above the piston, whereby the pressure upon opposite sides ofthe piston'y is IOO equalized. Vhen this condition exists within the valve mechanism embodying my invention-namely, with the pressure upon the piston equalized-it is obvious that the positions of the parts will be determined by pressure upon some other element or, as will be readily seen, upon the drain-valve S. The pressure is equalized4 upon opposite sides of the cutoff valve, and hence the only element upon which pressure may not be equalized is the drain-valve, which is exposed at only one side to the pressure of the contents of the casing. Hence when pressure is equalized upon opposite sides of the piston the pressure in the service-pipes Willopen the drain-valve and in so doing will close the cut-oif and exclude liquid from the supply-pipe. l

The valve-casing 23 is extended to form a tubular sheath 3l, iitted at its upper end with a removable cap 32, and within the sheath and preferably supported at its upper end by .said cap is a thermostat-rod 33, having sufiicient expansion qualities when affected by heat to cause the operation of the feed and exhaust valves 28 and 29. The form of thermostat-rod which I prefer to employ is constructed of hard rubber lspecially treated to adapt it for use in connection and arranged in alinement with and attached to the valvestem 30. As above indicated, the upper end of said thermostat-rod is adapted to be attached'to thecap 32 and may in practice be threaded thereinto, as indicated in the drawing. In operation, the cut-off valve being .unseated to allow a communication of liquid from the supply-port 2 to the service-port 4 and the drain-valve S being seated, it will be understood that the members of the apparatus will retain such positions as long as there is an excess of pressure upon the under side of the piston 16, the portion of the cylinder l above the piston being in communication with the exhaust 27, and this excess of pressure upon the lower side of the piston will obtain as long as the temperature maintains the thermostat-rodlin an expanded condition, and hence maintains the inlet-valve 28 seated. The falling of the temperature sufciently to contract the thermostat-rod will unseat the valve 28 and simultaneously seat the valve 29 to cut off communication between the upper portion of the cylinder and the exhaustvalve and at the same time open communication between the supply-port 2 and portion of the cylinder below the piston and the valvecasing 23. This equalizes the pressure upon the opposite sides of the pistou, and hence allows pressure upon the upper side of the drain-valve to unseat the latter and seat the cut-oilc valve. rod tocontract before the temperature reaches the freezing-point it Will be seen that freezing in the service-pipes may be efficiently prevented. f

An advantage of the specific construction of thermostat-rod which I employ resides in its simplicity, the'cheapness with which it By adapting the thermostat-- may be manufactured, its lightness, and its accuracy in operation, and the onlypreparation necessary to adapt it for the purpose described herein consists in boiling the rubber at a high temperatu re until soft and then condensing the same by a pressing force about one-sixth of its original size. This produces a colnpactness which renders the -rod susceptible to variations of temperature suicient to full the conditions of the described operation.

Changes may be made in the form of some of the parts While their essential features are retained and lthe spirit of the invention embodied. Hence I do not desire to be limited to the precise form of all the parts as shown, reserving the right to vary therefrom.

Having described my invention, what I claim isl. An automatic cut-off having connected oppositely-opening cut-ou and drain valves, of which the latter is exposed at one side to service-pressure, a piston connected with said valves for simultaneous operation and permanently exposed at one side to supply-pressure, valve mechanism for controlling inlet and exhaust ports in communication with the piston-cylinder at the opposite side of the piston, and a thermostat-rod for controlling` said valve mechanism, substantially as specilied.

v 2. An automatic cut-0E having connected oppositely-opening cut-offA and drain valves7 the latter being exposed to service-pressure, a piston connected with the cut-o and drain valves for simultaneous operation and having its cylinder provided with feed-ports arranged upon opposite sides of the plane of the piston, said piston being permanently exposed at one side to supply-pressure, a valve mechanism having inlet and exhaust valves for controlling the ports of the piston-cylinder, whereby service-pressure may be applied to the opposite side of the piston to equalize the permanent pressure thereon, and a thermostat-rod connected with the stem of said inlet and exhaust valves, substantially as specified.

3.' An automatic cut-off havingacasing including apiston-cylinder, supply and service ports, of which the former is in permanent communication with the interior of the cylinder, a cut-off valve controlling the communication between the supply and service ports, a drain-valve connected with the stem of the cut-off valve and controlling a drain-port in communication with the service-port, said drain-valve being arranged to open in the opposite direction from the cut-off valve, a piston operating in said cylinder and connected with the cut-off-valve stem, a valve-casing having inlet and exhaust ports, and being arranged in communication with feed-ports formed in the cylinder at the opposite sides of V4the plane of said piston, oppositely-opening inlet and exhaust valves controlling said inlet and yexhaust ports and having a com- IOO IIO

' mon stem, and a thermostat-red connected feed-ports of the cylinder, and having astenl extending into said sheath, and a hardrnb ber thermostat-rod arranged in the sheath, con neeted with said inlet and exhaust valvestem, and carried by a removable cap fitted upon the outer end of the sheath, substantiaily as speeied.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiiixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ROBERT FRANKLING LINDSAY.

W'tnesses:

J. F. DoRRoH, HENRY BRIGGs. 

